New xc90 owner love it but a few niggles

[Stewart123]

Hello all
So we have got ourselves a not so new but new to us 2004 XC90 d5
We absolutely love it but it has a couple of niggles
First one is the battery went flat and the anti skid warning has come on and the washers have decided not to work.
They make all the noise and the headlight washers pop up and wipers go but no water comes out.
Only had the big old girl a couple of days so any help will appreciated

[Simmy]

on my c70 headlight washers only spray on forth pull of windscreen washers

[Moose Test]

With respect to the windscreen and headlight washers, this might sound foolish but have you checked that there's actually sufficient water in the wash reservoir? I say that, since you report that the headlight washers are popping up - they're not mechanically or electrically operated in any way, they are simply raised by (usually) water pressure in feed line. For them to raise, if there is no water seen, then there must be air being pumped so the pump must be working.

Failing that, it's possible that the reservoir is full of muck and that this has blocked water flow through the lines and both pumps. If that's happened, it's also possible that the pump fuses have blown - you should check F15 in the engine bay (headlight high pressure washer) and F34 in the CEM (windscreen washer pump). The CEM fusebox is the one in the driver foot well.

If there is water in the tank and the fuses are good, then I'm afraid it is probably sludge and muck in the tank / pumps / lines and you'll need to dismantle and clean the affected parts.

On the anti-skid, if you've not replaced the battery with a new one and/or you're also having charging problems, then low bus voltage can cause those kinds of errors (and many others). If the battery and charge to it are good, your best bet is to have the diagnostic codes read using a Volvo reader (DICE/VIDA). In more than one Volvo I've owned, anti-skid faults were down to problems with the wheel speed sensing equipment; either the sensors themselves (or their wiring) fail or the cast iron reluctor ring on the driveshaft corrodes or cracks.

[Tannaton]

On the pre-facelift XC90 (which is yours) the washer bottle is very complicated thing with three pumps (headlight washers, windscreen and rear screen). Each pump drains from a different place in the tank so as you run out of water, the last things to stop working is the windscreen washers.

Anyhow has the chap above has said the headlamp washers extend under water pressure so if they popping out then likely you have water but they're blocked. On that age of car the system is usually full of sludge so if you're slightly handy I would strip it all down, clean it and flush it - you will be amazed at the results.

With regard to Anti-Skid message, that's the first sign of low system voltage so I'd check sort if necessary your battery. If that doesn't make the message go away then the only way forward is getting the codes read.